starting 2nd tank. want advice

cmonti

Member
I have an established 20 gallon high nano reef tank that has been running very well. Im thinking of starting a second tank with a south pacific feel. The look I have in my head is simple but might be cool. I have a 20 gallon long or a 15 gallon to choose from. Im thinking of a tank with fine white sugar sand, a fairly good piece of LR to act as a small sea mount in the middle of tank. A small school (5-7) green chromis and a banghi cardinal or two. maybe add a fire shrimp for some color. If I can keep my water clean maybe a few mushrooms or zoos on the rock. Power head for flow and a aquaclear 70 filter which I may convert to a fuge for filtration and nutrient export. Dont want to get crazy in filtration. not interested in building a sump. basic lights. Goal is to keep this project cheap. Current nano reef only has 2 clowns. I really want a few fish to look at.. thoughts? does this sound dumb?
 
never really been a fan of high tanks. Fish don't like to swim up and down more back and forth. So definitely go with the long. That's what i have. Except I drilled the back of the tank and put a cheap over flow to a sump. Cost effective kit from glass-holes.com and adds more water volume to the whole system. Which is always better for fish, corals, inverts. You could also build your own stand. I'm a very big DIY person when it comes to saltwater tanks. For the same size foot print you could go with a 29gallon? Same size as a 20L just higher with more water. The only problem with size 20 and smaller are the fish selections.
 

cmonti

Member
I totally hear you. Only reason I ask is I just found a 15 and a 20 long in my parents attic from when I was a kid. Plan to fill and check for leaks over the weekend. I was leaning towards the 20L. Would 5 blue-green chromis and a cardinal be too much of a bio load for that amount of water volume? Would I need a skimmer too?
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by cmonti http:///forum/thread/384302/starting-2nd-tank-want-advice#post_3366046
I totally hear you. Only reason I ask is I just found a 15 and a 20 long in my parents attic from when I was a kid. Plan to fill and check for leaks over the weekend. I was leaning towards the 20L. Would 5 blue-green chromis and a cardinal be too much of a bio load for that amount of water volume? Would I need a skimmer too?
Yeah but if it were me id do 5 fish total. but they are supper easy fish so u should be fine
 

cmonti

Member
thanks for the advice. my other though it to bite the bullet and use the 20L as a shallow SPS tank with the 15G sump/fuge.
 
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